Good and Bad vs. Loyalty

Our small town is abuzz. The gossip mill has been fired up and everybody's taking sides. And all in the absense of real information - that is, unless somebody's been talking out of turn.

As a former mayor of this town, I've learned to let go of a lot of things I used to be very involved with. But there's still a network out there of people who think I should be involved, or at least informed. I no longer have the inside track, especially on privileged information, but experience has given me the framework to fit facts into and come to my own judgment.

The thing is, the issue at the center of it concerns the firing of a city employee. This is where data privacy laws kick in, big time. When there's any job performance issue that may require some kind of disciplinary action, a closed meeting is held. In this case, closed means only the council members, the city attorney, the city clerk, and the employee in question attend. The doors are locked. Minutes are approved by the council afterwards, and both minutes and tape of the meeting are turned over to the attorney. Nobody is supposed to talk about what went on. Only the verdict at the end is public knowledge, as in, "X got fired for cause, effective such a date.," or, "nothing actionable was found against X". The only way such a meeting is other than closed is when the employee asks for an open meeting. That is always their choice and theirs alone.

Of course, in small towns, gossip is always a factor. I have heard tidbits over the months that can be summed up as two employees having a very bad working relationship. Downright disfunctional, in fact. Having known both people involved for years, I felt fairly confident in making my own assessment of the accuracy of the tidbits which came my way, as well as the likely person at fault. If I had to work under similar circumstances, I would have thought long and hard about quitting, despite the dearth of available jobs these days.

Recently, something happened between the two people. When? What? I don't know, as is entirely proper. Was it an escalation of what was already wrong in the relationship? Or something stand-alone outrageous? Again, I don't know. I do know one complained, the other denied. Classic he-said, he-said. It might have remained a stalemate, until something truly stupid happened.

This is where the issue of loyalty comes in. Because the stupid thing was that the person who previously denied wrongdoing went to a third city employee and said, "Here's what happened." Suddenly it was no longer just he-said, he-said, but he-told-me-too. And that third person became a witness against the employee who confessed all.

First of all, folks, if you really, really, really have to confess just how you screwed up at work, don't tell another co-worker who by virtue of their job description has divided loyalties. Go find a priest. He can keep it secret, because the secret part is a big piece of his job description.

Your fellow city employee can't. Their first loyalty is - properly - to the city. If information comes their way that can harm the city - say, if it could lead to an expensive lawsuit as well as a very public black eye - then their first duty is to protect the city. In other words, blab to the Mayor and the attorney so that appropriate action can be taken. In cases of eggregious wrongdoing, if it is not stopped, the whole city becomes liable. Lawsuits mean higher taxes or dropped services so the city can cover the costs. That's not how I want my city taxes spent.

The confessing employee was very upset - betrayed may not be too strong a word for those feelings - when the "secret" was not kept. But consider the employee who was confessed to. Had the secret been kept, there is the possibility that whatever action took case would be repeated, or even escalate. Silence implies consent. At any rate, the person receiving the new knowledge is now having to think about their own job. If the secret is kept, and it gets out that they knew but said nothing, they could also be subject to firing.

If you doubt the ethics or legalities behind needing to "tattle", ask yourself why criminal law includes a charge for "accessory after the fact". Weigh your loyalty against that.

Of course we value loyalty. Especially among our friends. It's what makes those people our friends. A breach of loyalty can kill a friendship. Loyalty's one of the things that makes relationships with other humans even possible. It's a wonderful ethic.

Just not the highest.